Western Digital’s Ultrastar DC ZN540 Is the World’s First ZNS SSD

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Tom’s Hardware: Western Digital is one of the most vocal proponents of the Zoned Namespaces (ZNS) storage initiative, so it is not surprising that the company this week became the first SSD maker to start sampling of a ZNS SSD. When used properly, the Ultrastar DC ZN540 drive can replace up to four conventional…

The Next Step In SSD Evolution: NVMe Zoned Namespaces Explained

FallOutBoyTonto writes: In June we saw an update to the NVMe standard. The update defines a software interface to assist in actually reading and writing to the drives in a way to which SSDs and NAND flash actually works. Instead of emulating the traditional block device model that SSDs inherited from hard drives and earlier storage technologies, the new NVMe Zoned…

Samsung Chip Output at South Korea Plant Partly Halted Due To 1-Minute Power Glitch

mikeebbbd writes: A 1-minute power glitch on Tuesday, December 31, partially shut down Samsung chip production at its Hwaseong chip complex in South Korea for “two or three days”. DRAM and NAND lines were affected. Preliminary inspections show “no major damage” but losses are still expected to be in the millions.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: https://slashdot.org/story/20/01/01/1044252/samsung-chip-output-at-south-korea-plant-partly-halted-due-to-1-minute-power-glitch?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed…

Why DRAM Chipmakers Need Their Own OPEC

DRAM is just as much a commodity as oil. But manufacturers can only dream about the benefits of negotiating supply together. From a report: You’ve got to feel for the world’s biggest suppliers of DRAM. Makers of these chips, which temporarily store information in PCs, smartphones and services, endured years of boom-bust profit swings and bruising competition long before the trade…

Researchers Claim Robust ‘Universal Computer Memory’ Breakthrough

Lancaster University has announced a “universal computer memory” breakthrough combining the fast, low-energy storage of DRAM memory with the robustness of flash memory. They’re now envisioning ultra-low energy consumption computers which would never need to boot up — and can “instantaneously and imperceptibly” slip into an energy-saving sleep mode. Long-time Slashdot reader Hrrrg pointed us to this announcement:
A U.S. patent has…